Chapter 198: Fortune From Heaven

The transformation of nomadic peoples is a long process. Under Peter's policy, some pastures were returned to agriculture, farmers were protected, and water conservancy facilities began to be built. He set up agricultural officials in various places to supervise local agricultural production.

In business, Peter abolished some exorbitant taxes and exempted them for two years. He began to repair roads and city walls, and dilapidated cities such as Cyzicus began to revive, and began to check the household registration. These tasks were not something he could do alone. A group of officials came to Anatolia from the Balkans and initially established an administrative system.

Mircea returned to Bucuriesti, where he received the worship and cheers of the people. Wallachia has never been so glorious.

In the capital, there are still some people waiting to see the victorious prince. They came from Constantinople and were nobles in the capital and nearby areas.

As mentioned before, the domestic forces of the Roman Empire were divided into three parts. Pro-Ottoman faction, pro-Western European faction and Orthodox faction. Pro-Ottoman faction lost the market after Timur's westward expedition. Pro-Western European faction and Orthodox faction were evenly matched. The rise of Wallachia gave the Orthodox faction hope, so they sent noble representatives to negotiate with Mircea.

Because Western Europeans still have great power in the Balkan Peninsula, Greece and some islands in the Aegean Sea, many people in the Roman Empire are indeed most worried about the Latin Empire's comeback. They regard the restoration of the Latin Empire as more dangerous than the invasion of the Turks. And Wallachia, which belongs to the same religion, is undoubtedly the biggest hope.

At the same time, they also received the support of the Orthodox Church. The convening of the Great Council proved Wallachia's loyalty to the Orthodox Church, so the Patriarch also sent a bishop as a deputy envoy to discuss Mircea's entry into Constantinople.

Mircea met with them, and he also knew that if he wanted to enter Constantinople, he had to have a good relationship with them, especially to get the recognition of the Patriarch. Moreover, most of the Orthodox nobles belonged to small and medium nobles, which was very important to break the influence of the great nobles of Constantinople.

In addition to this, Mircea's family affairs also fluctuated. Lady Maria had a big fight with the Grand Duke because the Grand Duke transferred Peter to Anatolia as governor without consulting her. What if something goes wrong when you are unfamiliar with the place?

But Mircea will not worry, because Peter has completed his transformation after several years of experience. For Anatolia, it is just a new test.

But Maria will not think so much. In her opinion, Anatolia is a land full of pagans and dangers. Isn't it dangerous for her son to go here?

The two people have different ideas and can only have a cold war. Maria goes to church to pray every day, hoping that her son can return safely, and the Grand Duke provides support for Peter's actions in Anatolia in the capital.

In order to take root in Anatolia, Peter took out one-third of his private money, which was barely enough. The income from commercial taxes will have to wait for a few months, but the expenses of these days must be found.

In addition, various constructions and military expansions require money, although assistance has been applied to the capital. But the transfer takes time, and Peter needs to cash it out immediately.

"Your Highness, good news."

Peter was worried in the office, and suddenly his official came in to report a good news.

"Why, did you find a gold mine?"

"Your Highness, it's better than a gold mine. Look what this is."

The official opened the cloth bag in his hand, and inside were several transparent solids, as crystal clear as crystal agate.

"Did you find a crystal mine?"

Peter asked, and the official shook his head and said with a smile. "Your Highness, this is alum. We found a particularly large alum mine cave, which contains a lot of alum."

Peter was a little disappointed when he heard that it was alum. This is not gold or silver, how can it be cashed out. But his wife Sophia, who was delivering food to him, heard that there was alum and asked if it was true.

The official showed difficulty, but Peter said not to worry, this is his wife. The official immediately changed his expression and assured that it was true.

"Oh, my husband, a huge fortune is in front of you, and you don't even know it."

This made Peter puzzled. After Sophia's introduction, he realized that the thing in front of him had such a great effect.

Since the 14th and 15th centuries, alum has been widely used in the glass manufacturing, tanning and textile industries in Europe. It is used as a purifier to remove grease and impurities from wool, or as a mordant to fix dyes on fabrics. Before the emergence of artificial synthetic chemical raw material substitutes in later generations, alum was an industrial raw material in short supply in the market.

The finest quality potassium alum stone is near the town of Karaisar in Asia Minor, not far from Trabzon, but the output is very small, so this commodity is very scarce. The most obvious alum deposits were found in Phocea on the coast of Asia Minor, close to Smyrna. The quality of this alum is second best.

From 1275, the alum mines in Phocea were under the control of the Genoese until they were driven away by the Turks. All other kinds of alum, whether from the Barbary Coast or elsewhere, were inferior in quality, and their use was often prohibited by guild rules.

Now that such a large alum mine had been discovered in the area controlled by Wallachia, it meant a steady stream of wealth. The more Sophia talked, the happier Peter became.

"In that case, what are we waiting for?"

Peter sent people to protect this place, and the Chamber of Commerce took over, and at the same time released the news of the discovery of the alum mine, and some wealthy businessmen came to buy it without stopping after hearing it.

Genoa should be the most fearful. Once the alum from Wallachia enters the market, the price will definitely drop. No, they must be stopped.

Francisco got another mission, to go to Anatolia and monopolize the alum from Wallachia.

This is not a problem for him. Although the trade volume between Genoa and Wallachia has exceeded 1 million lei in recent years, coupled with the local unique official selection system, many Genoese have settled in Constanta and Bucuriesti. The relationship between the two countries has given Genoa hope for revitalization, so on the one hand, it accepts the protection of the French suzerain, and on the other hand, it has established good relations with Wallachia.

Francisco was not very sure about the negotiations on the alum mine. He only knew that if there was not enough money, the alum would belong to others. For this reason, he asked for help from Genoese merchants in Wallachia, and wrote to the Genoese Parliament, asking them to send a formal envoy to negotiate, and never let Venice take it away.

In addition, he also found Italian cities such as Pisa and asked them to join forces to stop Venice, but he didn't know how effective it would be.